Digital Ambassadors teach computer literacy skills to colonia residents

4 weeks ago 39

ALAMO, Texas – The Intercultural Development Research Association and ARISE Adelante have joined forces for a project to improve computer literacy skills in four colonias in Hidalgo County.

The two groups joined forces to launch the Digital Ambassadors Program. Under the program, high-school students in four colonias were trained as guides to help colonia residents in Las Milpas, South Tower, Muñiz, and Hargill with essential digital skills.

Michelle Vega, chief technology strategist at IDRA, said the Digital Ambassadors Pilot aims to bridge the digital skills gap by transforming students into technology trainers. She said students aged 12-18 living across the four colonias signed up to be Digital Ambassadors.

“Digital skills are as important as broadband access. Once someone has internet service, they then need the device to use it, and the skills to to use that device,” Vega said.

“Students already have a wealth of experience, and they speak the language that their parents speak. This made them a natural bridge between the technology and being able to communicate with others that need help using it.”

Connect Humanity provided ARISE Adelante with a grant to support the project as part of its broader effort to advance digital equity in South Texas through the Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition, a coalition initiated by Connect Humanity in collaboration with Rural LISC.

“While the expansion of internet access holds tremendous community benefits, it comes with a real need for digital literacy training to help more people get online and use technology to access public services, telehealth, and more,” said Jordana Barton-Garcia, a fellow with Connect Humanity.

The first thing the the Digital Ambassadors did, Vega said, was survey the community. One hundred and ten community members were surveyed, revealing needs for training in areas such as using the keyboard and mouse, learning basic device functionality, internet safety, setting up email accounts, using online bank banking, and applying for jobs.

Next, ambassadors were trained in the specific skills identified by the survey as most in demand. The students were also given coaching on how to be effective trainers, helping build their confidence for the third phase where they would work directly with residents.

Finally, Vega explained, students provided training, helping residents navigate devices and take advantage of online services. Sixty-two residents participated, receiving training across ARISE’s four locations and in local health centers. Prior to this, many people had only experienced the internet via a cell phone, so having hands-on instruction on laptop computers with their student-teachers was profound.

“It was amazing watching the participants put their hands on the keyboard. For some of them, it almost seemed like the first time that they did that. And the students did all the training in Spanish and were able to really connect with people and provide them with the resources they needed,” Vega said.

Aurelio M. Montemayor, IDRA senior education associate and family engagement coordinator, said the Digital Ambassadors program has been a great success, for the trainers, the residents, and the community.

“We know that any child, any teenager, if you connect them in the right way, their talents come out, their gifts come out. No matter how poor, how limited their education, if you give the right support and connect to their desire to achieve, their brilliance comes up every time,” Montemayor said.

“When young people build this very practical set of skills they start to see the opening of a career. So rather than think in abstract terms ‘I want to go for this or that,’ they instead think ‘I could become a programmer or a network engineer.’ That has a great future.”

What’s next?

In the next iteration of the Digital Ambassadors Program, IDRA and ARISE hope to raise funds to create paid positions for students to do this work.

And the Digital Ambassadors Pilot is just the first step. IDRA is now seeking funding to build a ‘TechXperts’ program that would also employ students to run a tech helpdesk on campus in which they would gain ComptTIA ITF+ certification qualifying them for a job straight out of school.

For some, this will directly lead to a successful career, IDRA believes. For others, the income will help pay the costs of college so they can expand their knowledge and credentials to advance their career in tech and other fields.

IDRA and ARISE also have a vision to build a computer lab so residents that lack home broadband have a safe place to come to access high-speed internet and the support they need to navigate and use digital technology.

“More digital skills training in colonias is vital. As a train-the-trainer model, the economic and social impact of the Digital Ambassador Program and the TechXperts initiatives will be profound, building skills while training future leaders in the colonias,” the groups said.

IDRA and ARISE are looking to scale this work to train the next cohort of ambassadors and make digital literacy training available in more locations and for more residents. “But resources are a huge challenge,” Montemayor acknowledged.

To learn more about these programs and how you can help sustain them, visit www.idra.org

Or contact:

Michelle Vega, IDRA Chief Technology Strategist, michelle.vega@idra.org

Lourdes Flores, ARISE President, lflores@ariseadelante.org

To learn more about the Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition, contact Jordana Barton-Garcia, jordana@connecthumanity.fund

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